Bivalent COVID-19 booster shot appointments for those 18+ open Monday

Starting Monday, anyone aged 18 and over is eligible to receive the bivalent COVID-19 booster shot in Ontario.

Appointments can be booked through the province’s COVID-19 vaccine portal or directly through individual public health units that are employing their own booking systems, as well as some healthcare providers and participating pharmacies.

While the BA.5 Omicron subvariant is the dominant one in the province and the bivalent vaccine was made specifically for the BA.1 subvariant, health officials say the booster provides better protection against all Omicron variants.

Officials say with the start of the fall and winter respiratory illness season, vulnerable individuals such as those aged 70 and over, and moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals aged 12 and over are strongly recommended to receive their bivalent booster as soon as they can.

Long-term care residents and health care workers were the first to receive Moderna’s new Spikevax Bivalent vaccine earlier this month. Trial data showed that when given as a fourth dose, the variant-adapted booster raised antibodies by eight-fold against Omicron.

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As well, the new paediatric Pfizer vaccine will be available for children between the ages of six months and five years.

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for infants and children is a three-dose primary series, with a recommended dosing interval of eight weeks between doses. Unlike the adult vaccines, health officials recommend children should avoid mixing products for their primary series doses, whether it is Pfizer or Moderna.

“Getting your child vaccinated improves their immune response to COVID-19 infection and reduces the possibility of severe disease and hospitalization and post COVID-19 symptoms,” Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.

Data released on Sept. 22 from the Ontario Ministry of Health showed the test positivity rate across the province climbed to 13.1 per cent, up slightly from 12.2 per cent the previous week as the number of new cases detected through PCR testing climbed for the second consecutive week. Meanwhile the number of patients in hospital due to COVID-19 sits at 1,141, down slightly from the previous week (1,167). The number of patients in critical care due to the virus remained virtually unchanged at 129. An additional 65 deaths were added to the provincial total over the last week.